Greg Takesh's GT Audio Works Giulietta Bellissima planar ribbon speakers and OB subs, in their US debuts, are handmade in upstate New York, where he even makes his own drivers.
His CAF system consisted of a Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i9 music server ($4000); a Sonore Signature Rendu SE Deluxe music streamer ($5350); a LampizatOr Genya DAC ($18,995); a Trafomatic Audio Tara 30A SET amplifier ($79,000); and WestminsterLab Rei class-A monoblocks ($37,900/pair), accompanied by an AnTek BP-1300 Balance Isolation Power Supply ($388) and assorted Magnan Audio cables. Oh, and the speakers: the Bellissima planars cost $49,000/pair.
They Gstand 81" tall (with spikes), 22" wide, and 3" deep. Each three-way employs a 9"×72" planar magnetic bass panel, a 2"×72" planar magnetic midrange, and a 0.5"×72" pure ribbon tweeter.
"All drivers are my own proprietary design built in my New Jersey shop using high-energy neodymium magnets," Takesh wrote in an email before the show. "What sets my design apart from others is there are no electrical filters on the bass panel. Its frequency response is tuned and damped by mechanical means, so there is nothing electrical between the amp and the planar magnetic panel. This driver is more than a bass driver; it covers a wide range. Think of it as a large, coherent single driver. Its slope is quite shallow and gradual, blending well with the mid driver and ribbon drivers, which each use a single high-quality capacitor (VH Audio V-Cap ODAM)."
"I use this method because it creates a very firm handshake between the driving amp and the planar panel without any phase, capacitance, or parasitic electrical losses," he continued. "This gives my speaker jump factor and resolution. At 93dB and with a benign 6 ohm load, it is an easy speaker to drive."
Takesh's OB subwoofers use two 12" active, open-baffle subs per unit. They're powered by a 1000Wpc class-D amp with DSP. In this system, they kick in below 60Hz . "The main speaker bass panels don't go lower than 50Hz," Takesh wrote. "My logic is to leave planars to what they do best and cones to what they do best."
The system handled a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" with effortless power, generating massive, room-filling bass that underscored the track's large, spirited images. The speakers were comically oversized for the small hotel room, yet the room didn't seem overdriven. The playback maintained a sweet, pure, clean demeanor. Switching gears, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" sounded hot, luscious, and piquant, with a tart-textured treble that cut through like spice in key lime pie.
They Gstand 81" tall (with spikes), 22" wide, and 3" deep. Each three-way employs a 9"×72" planar magnetic bass panel, a 2"×72" planar magnetic midrange, and a 0.5"×72" pure ribbon tweeter.
"I use this method because it creates a very firm handshake between the driving amp and the planar panel without any phase, capacitance, or parasitic electrical losses," he continued. "This gives my speaker jump factor and resolution. At 93dB and with a benign 6 ohm load, it is an easy speaker to drive."
Takesh's OB subwoofers use two 12" active, open-baffle subs per unit. They're powered by a 1000Wpc class-D amp with DSP. In this system, they kick in below 60Hz . "The main speaker bass panels don't go lower than 50Hz," Takesh wrote. "My logic is to leave planars to what they do best and cones to what they do best." 
